Livia Sales-Genovés returns to Casa Hispana as full-time director
by Jillian Setek
Casa Hispana at Nazareth College welcomes Livia Sales-Genovés as its new full-time director. She has volunteered with Casa Hispana for the past seven years and is thrilled to begin her role as director. “Casa Hispana is my second home,” said Sales-Genovés. “I came as a volunteer to Casa Hispana, looking for a place with students, and for an outlet for where I could speak my language and be valued for it.” Sales-Genovés loves that Casa Hispana is entirely dedicated to the promotion of the Spanish language and the cultures of each different Spanish-speaking country. She also teaches courses in Nazareth's World Languages and Cultures Department.
Sales-Genovés is from Valencia, Spain, a city on the Mediterranean Coast. She studied law at the University of Valencia but quickly switched her focus to higher education, working for 23 years as a professor, advisor, and internship coordinator.
Sales-Genovés and her family, including four children, moved to Rochester from Valencia eight years ago. While she was searching for a new position, she sought out a place where she could feel at home: “I wanted to begin teaching again, but I wasn’t sure how. Once I discovered Casa Hispana, I stepped out of my comfort zone, and discovered that it would be the best way for me to teach Spanish.”
Casa Hispana is a welcoming home that supports students through their successes and challenges; helps students find career paths that use Spanish; and provides fun, creative, interactive learning about the Spanish language and cultures. Students can help create the Casa’s events, benefit from networking with the wider Rochester community, and gain understanding related to culture and diversity that enhances their lives and supports career success in a variety of fields.
Sales-Genovés also facilitated a partnership between Nazareth and La Universidad Católica de Valencia, where students have the opportunity each semester to study abroad. The two institutions “are a perfect fit, because of the way they educate and care for their students,” she said. The partnership began in 2015. Students are able to explore living in different locations, strengthen their Spanish language skills, and expand their horizons.
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Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.
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